Origin of the surnamePress is probably an occupational surnamederived
from "Priest". Spelling variations include: Preost, Priest, Prest, Preist, Prestt, Press,
Prust and many more.
Other surnames derived from this source include Priestly, Presley and similar
variations.

First found in Hertfordshire, where Aelfsige Preost was recorded in 963.

John PressJohn Press lived at Wiveliscombe, Somerset in 1790 when his wife gave
birth to their son, Daniel. Nothing more is yet known about his life.

Daniel Press,
1790 - 1868Daniel Press was born in Wiveliscombe (Somerset, England) in about
1790, son of John Press and Hannah. He was 37 years old when he married
Ethelinda Walmouth and they produced nine children during the next twenty years,
all born at Wiveliscombe. The children were: Sarah b.1828, William b.1829,
Francis b.1831, Ethelinda b.1835, David b.1837, Daniel b.1838, Joseph b.1841,
Mary Jane b.1843 and Henry b.1846.

When Daniel was 59 years old he decided to emigrate to Australia with his wife and nine
children ranging in age from 3 to 21 years old. They arrived at Sydney aboard
the Una on 22 November 1849.

A few months later, the family arrived in the Bathurst area where a tenth
child, Thomas, was born at Gorman's Hill on 7 October 1850. The Press family
members settled on farms in the Rockley, Triangle Flat and Burraga areas.

The details of Daniel's latter years are not yet known. He died on 6 May 1868
and both he and his wife are buried in the old cemetery in Orange, NSW.

David Press, 1837 -
?David Press was born about 1837 in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, the fifth
child of Daniel Press and Ethelinda Walmouth. He emigrated at age 12 with his
family aboard the Una and arrived at Sydney on 22 November 1849.

He moved with his parents to the Bathurst district where the family settled
on a farm. He worked with a horse and gig for a couple of years and later in the
copper mines. He later worked on a farm and then as a carrier before he settled
on his own 700 acre farm at Triangle Flat.

On 2 May 1866, at the age of 24 years, he married Susanna Baker at the Church
of St Michael and St John in Bathurst. His wife was the 18 year old daughter of
William Baker and Elizabeth Connor who lived at Dunn's Plains. Both signed the
marriage register with a mark.

Their first child was Mary Jane, who was born at Triangle Creek on 24 October
1867. A further six children followed, including: Agnes, Joseph, David,
Susannah, Susan Blanche.

David's wife Susan died on 14 October 1907, aged 59 years. David lived a
further 11 years; he died on 31 August 1918 aged 84 years. They are both buried
in the Triangle Creek cemetery.

Mary Jane Press was the eldest of seven children born to David Press and
Susanna Baker who ran a 700 acre farm at Triangle Creek in the Bathurst district
of NSW.

At the age of 23 years she was married at nearby Rockey to 32 year old James
Kessey, himself the son of a farmer. She gave birth to their first child, Mary
Grace, in the following year with the second, James Harold following two years later. They were known
by their second names throughout their lives. Eight more children followed:
Beatrice b.1895, Emily Bernadette ("Bern") b.1896, Philomena b.1898,
Joseph Aloysius b.1899, John Horace ("Horace") b.1902, Halvar Roy
b.1905, Jean Alice Columbia b.1907 and Hilton David b.1909.

Mary Jane and her husband ran the hotel at Mount David, near Rockley. Most of their custom came from the
local miners. The eldest two daughters, Grace and Beat, married two sons of the
mine manager, Garnet Martin and Dal Martin respectively.

In 1914 there was a
scandal involving Mary Jane Kessey and the mine manager, Walter Henry Martin.
James Kessey sued his wife for divorce and named Martin as co-respondent. Mary
Jane was forced to go live in Sydney for several months to defend the case but
the
divorce was granted and Martin was ordered to pay James Kessey £500. With
their mother gone, the younger children were taken in by their older sisters who
were, ironically, married to Walter Martin's sons.

Mary Jane was placed in a
very unenviable position. Her ex-husband had thrown her out of their home, she
was cut off from her children and she could not have received much support from
Walter Martin who had his own family to look after. Fortunately she was a strong
person and managed to get through these difficulties somehow.

Four years later, when the
First World War ended, the soldiers brought a virulent strain of influenza to
Australia. Many people died in a very short period. The NSW town of Orange was
very badly affected and James Kessey feared for the safety of his children. He
asked the local doctor for advice on how to get away from the 'flu'. The doctor
advised him to take his family "to the hottest place you can find".
James Kessey decided to move his family to Bourke.

During the crisis, Mary
Jane and he ex-husband were reconciled. They boarded the Western Mail train and
made it to Dubbo only to be refused room at the inn. At this time of medical
crisis, strangers were not welcome. Jim Kessey had to ask the police to
intervene in order to obtain overnight shelter for his family.

The family proceeded on
the first available train to Bourke. At Byrock, Jim and Mary Jane were quietly married
for the second time. The younger children never found out about their
parents' divorce.

The family had a comfortable life in Bourke. They soon owned
and ran the Oxford hotel, the Palais Royal theatre and several rental houses in
the town. Mary Jane's husband became Mayor of Bourke and her children settled
into the community. She and her husband bought a large house at 13 Sturt Street
where they lived with their married son, Halvar and his wife, Ena (nee Murphy).

Mary
Jane and her husband travelled abroad to Ireland via India. While in Ireland,
Mary Jane felt that something was wrong at home and urged her husband to return.
She was right.

Halvar and Ena's son, Jim, had contracted meningitis, along with 13 other
babies in Bourke. Twelve died and the doctor has resigned himself that Jim would
suffer the same fate. Mrs Polson, the hospital Matron, suggested that they try a
new technique: the intravenous drip. The doctor agreed that it was worth trying
and could do no harm. Jim was the only survivor out of the 13 babies that
contracted the illness.

Mary Jane was very close to her daughter-in-law, Ena
Kessey who lived a block and a half away in Hope Street. Mary Jane was in the habit
of hitting a golf ball over to Ena's place and would then follow it for a visit!

She
was a woman of strong will and strong opinion. On one occasion, tiring of
waiting for her husband to return home, she marched up to the hotel to see if he
was there, which he was. She walked into the bar and announced loudly to the
barman,

"Danny Ryan, shout for the bar, and Jim Kessey will pay!".

Afterwards,
as they walked home, her husband admonished her with,

"Old lady, don't
you ever follee me again!".

She replied, "Old man, this is only an
introduction!".

On another occasion, her husband had been out late at a
card party and Mary Jane was snakey because she didn't go. When her husband
eventually arrived home she demanded to know whether they had been served any
supper.

"Well it's a damn wonder
you didn't have tea!" came her exasperated retort.

She was also capable
of displaying a cutting dry wit. Her quiet response to her husband breaking wind
was,

"Put the calf out, Jim!".

Her husband died in 1944 and is
buried in the Bourke cemetery. Mary Jane lived a few more years before dying on
5 March 1951 while visiting her daughter in the Illawarra district. She is
buried in Wollongong cemetery.